LNAK10098U Forest and Nature Management Planning

Volume 2019/2020
Education

MSc Programme in Forest Ecosystems, Nature and Society (SUFONAMA)
MSc Programme in Forest and Nature Management
MSc Programme in Nature Management

Content

 

 

Students of forest and nature management planning need to understand the complexity of planning and the challenges of managing forest and nature areas in a sustainable way. For forest and nature managers, sustainability managing a particular forest or nature area means determining, in a tangible way, how to use it today to ensure similar benefits, health and productivity in the future. Forest and nature managers must assess and integrate a wide array of sometimes conflicting factors - commercial and non-commercial values, environmental issues and community needs to produce sound and useful forest and nature plans. Additionally, plans must be feasible and economically viable.
 

Another important part of this course introduces students to Structured Decision Making which is an organized approach to developing and evaluating creative alternatives and making defensible choices. It has been particularly useful for helping groups work productively together on decisions marked by technical uncertainty and controversial trade-offs. It combines analytical methods from decision analysis with insights into human judgments and behavior.
 

The course works its way through what we know about the prerequisites of informed decision-making, following the logical steps in identifying aims and objectives, investigating the state of forest / nature goods and services, and transforming objectives into management actions with due consideration of for who, when and how to implement management actions. Students will also acquire knowledge about reality planning and the relation between means (e.g. budgets) and ends (objectives). The students will learn to quantify and model ecosystem services and include them in the forest and nature management plan

 

 

Learning Outcome

Knowledge

  • Understand a natural science management planning approach emphasizing the study objects: forests and natural resources.
  • Explain the principles of sustainable utilization, protection and stewardship of forests and other semi-natural areas
  • Explain key theories and methodologies for management planning and making structured environmental decisions
  • Summarize potentials/restrictions and sustainability of utilization of biological systems.
  • Summarize economic theory and demonstrate general knowledge of the planning and structured decision making tools utilized in the management of forests and nature
  • Describe and classify a range of decision-support tools

 

Skills

  • Apply a social science management planning approach to forests and natural resources from the point of view of an enterprise, organization, and/or society.
  • Apply structured environmental decision making approaches on forest and natural resource problems
  • Apply economic theory and utilize economic planning tools for analyzing and modelling the welfare and business economic production from forests and natural resources, and realizing management and development tasks within the frames given by society (legislation, regulations, facts).
  • Develop long-term strategies, operational objectives and specific plans for sustainable utilization and protection of forests and other green resources, considering the social, ecological and economic objectives and limitations.
  • Describe modelling, regulation and management of green resources; develop, quantify and use theoretical and applied models of the productive and protective functions of forests and natural resources – material as well as immaterial.
  • Practice economic, dynamic and holistic management planning
  • Formulate, plan and implement a project/plan
  • Develop planning models, formulate and apply basic models based on economic theory and methods.
  • Analyze the planning process and structure; and communicate planning implementation and results.
  • Communicate professional problems and solutions – both orally and in writing

 

Competences

  • Transfer the use of structured decision making, economic theory and methods in management planning for forests and natural resources to other planning problems and situations involving people, social systems, and allocation of scarce production resources.
  • Transfer a planning structure and decision framework based on structured decision making to other work situations.
  • Design decision-making with the entry point of rational economic planning theory
  • Understand and apply general criteria applicable for economic evaluation of planning results.
  • Cooperate and work effectively in a group with a common economic planning project developing interpersonal and intercultural competences
  • Turn demands on our natural surroundings into concrete actions and projects based on a scientific foundation
  • Manage operations and development tasks in the framework set out by society
Literature

Teaching material will be announced at Absalon. Mostly journal papers which are accessible through university library facilities.

LOJK10282U Applied Economics of Forest and Nature or similar economic competences

Academic qualifications equivalent to a BSc degree is recommended.
Plenary lectures on topics will be given. On average one field trip is organised every week to visit a forest and nature case area to actively link theory with practice and to discuss opportunities and constraints with stakeholders/owners. This will facilitate understanding theory in the context of real world planning. Theoretical exercises will support the lectures. Students will present results and round-up discussions will summarise. Groups of approximately 4 students will prepare a forest and nature management plan for a real world case. Groups will formulate and present milestones of their project during the course. Seminars on selected topics will be arranged including the best national and international scholars in the field. Teaching activities take place out of course structure. Exact dates and times will be available at the beginning of the course. The overall requirements of the course correspond to full time studies. Therefore, it is recommended to use the full block for studies in this course without parallel study activities.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Exam
  • 30
  • Excursions
  • 55
  • Guidance
  • 4
  • Lectures
  • 80
  • Preparation
  • 73
  • Project work
  • 140
  • Theory exercises
  • 30
  • Total
  • 412
Written
Continuous feedback during the course of the semester

The student groups will recieve written feed-back on one or two chapters in the project report

Credit
15 ECTS
Type of assessment
Oral examination, 35 - 40 minutes in total for both parts
Description of Examination: The oral exam includes two parts. In the first part each student presents and discusses the forest and nature management report/plan. The second part is an oral examination based on compulsory material. No time for preparation.

Weight: Oral examination 100% (defence of plan 50%, examination based on compulsory material 50%). Individual oral examination of the management plan and questions based on subjects within the compulsory material.
Exam registration requirements

Delivery and approval of forest and nature management project report

Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
Re-exam

Like the ordinary exam.

If the student has not handed in the project report, then it must be handed in three weeks prior to the re-exam. It must be approved before the exam.

Criteria for exam assesment

See learning outcome